L.A. Fashion Corner was last Friday, and there were many talented (and at least one less-than-talented) designers on display. House of 11 was my favorite of the night, though it could be considered a tie between Hof11 and Kami Shade’. The gold accents and occasional leather paneling/pieces both stood out without overwhelming the designs. Below are my top picks from the collection.
Ugh, I just can’t shop online anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. Love, love, love it. How many places can you get a Gucci watch for less than your entire paycheck (Thanks, Rue La La!)? Here’s the problem: Too many times I’ve anxiously anticipated my latest discovery to arrive, only to be disappointed when it was too small/too big/too different from the photo, and, as is usually the case with deal websites like Gilt and Ideeli, ruined with a smudge or small tear in a place I wasn’t supposed to notice.
Take, for example, the amazing Rachel Zoe skirt I splurged on last year for my birthday (Paris in the Midwest did a great blog post featuring this skirt). Originally $500, I paid a deeply (like, dig-to-the-center-of-the-earth deep) discounted price and felt like I had won the fashion lottery. So it was a double whammy when I finally tried it on and it a) was too small (really, Zoe? I ordered a size larger than I usually do, as was recommended. Stop being tiny.) and b) had a weird stain that is—even more weird—the color and pattern of the skirt. I can’t…I just don’t even know what that would be.
It seems like the solution is to just not shop at deal websites, but those aren’t the only let-downs I’ve had. My most recent order from Piperlime was, for the most part, successful. The only exception was this adorable floral top I ordered that turned out to look more 90s elementary school kid sporting a Lisa Frank binder than it was Kate Moss boho-chic.
I can think of worse things than being forced (the horror) to actually visit stores. “Shopping is my cardio.” Yes, Carrie, yes it is.
1. Alice + Olivia—Mya Strapless Tulip Dress $396
2. stella & dot—Jolie Necklace $79
3. United Colors of Benetton—Skinny Pants (price not available)
4. Cole Haan—Bedford Izzie Clutch $89
6. TOPSHOP—Silk Floral Tee by Boutique $140
I have a small problem that most people would scoff at, but you, my loyal readers, will totally understand. I am lacking … Louboutins. I am craving a pair of red-soled beauties and would love your advice on imploring my budget-conscience husband to let me buy them. This will probably never happen. At least, not at full price.
But here’s my next problem: I could go to Rue La La or Gilt and, with some luck and good timing, finagle some Louboutins. But it’s just not as satisfying as buying them from the man himself, or as a second option, Neiman‘s or Nordstrom‘s.
What to do, fashion gods!
Is it worth the hundreds of dollars that might be better left in our savings account? Or is the magic that I’m imagining comes built into the cushy soles real?
Fashion PR is not just a tough business, but it can also be a mean one. But Sarah Pollack Boyd has taken a different approach as she kills them with kindness — and it’s certainly working. After nine years spent building a successful fashion-focused career in public relations, Sarah launched the stylist-centric SimplyStylist.com in January 2012.
In just a few short months, SimplyStylist.com has become a hub for stylists and lovers of fashion. And the recent Simply Stylist Seminar event at the W Hollywood drew many participants who flocked to learn valuable career advice from industry experts, including Brenna Egan, Refinery29.com Los Angeles Editor and former Vogue staffer; Jamie Krell, E! and Style Network Style Expert; Alexis and Kym McClay, Naven Designers; Jeanne Yang, Celebrity Stylist, who also collaborates with Katie Holmes on their clothing line, Holmes & Yang; and Shea Marie, CheyenneMeetsChanel.com Fashion Blogger.
Sarah was nice enough to take time out from her hectic schedule to answer The Gucci Hoochie’s questions about her career, her fashion and her advice for PR newbies. Read on!
How did you make your way to Los Angeles?
I’m a small town girl from York, Pennsylvania. I ended up in Los Angeles because, for fashion, it’s really Los Angeles or New York. My sister had moved to L.A. when I just started college, and I would visit her at least once a year and always told myself that I would live here. So, as soon as I graduated, I packed up and moved out!
You were inspired to work in the industry after shadowing department store buyers. What was it about their work that inspired you to work in fashion?
It was at Bon Ton back in Pennsylvania. I had no idea what I wanted to major in for college, let alone my life path! My high school offered a field trip to shadow store buyers, and I couldn’t believe that shopping could actually be a job. I immediately started looking into fashion schools, and the next year I was beginning to pave my path into the world of fashion.
What is it like working in fashion PR?
Fashion PR sounds really glamorous, but it’s a lot of emails and pitches. With current technology, editors and producers want everything pitched through email so it makes being in fashion PR much more email intensive. It is fun though when you get to be on-site for a fitting or a celebrity showroom visit.
What was the most difficult aspect of working in fashion PR?
Being denied. You have to hear the word “no” or even worse, get no response multiple times a day. There are countless pitches going out daily and very few make it to print. It’s a long and tedious process, but it all pays off when you see the placement!
What is your favorite part of your job?
Ummm all the free clothes?!
What advice would you give to new faces in the fashion PR business?
I would say to definitely have THICK skin! And intern, intern, intern — get as much experience as you possibly can. Also, be kind. It goes a long way, and you never know where you can help someone or someone can help you down the road. PR people are known for not being the nicest, but I chose the route of being super sweet and it has proved to be successful so far.
When you launched SimplyStylist.com, what were you most nervous about? What were you most excited about?
I was definitely most nervous about my customers — do I have enough? Will people be as interested in the topic as I am? Will people come to my events? I was most excited to build my own business from the ground up and to be able to bring a service to women that I know everyone can find value in. People buy the fashion magazines, so why not hear about the trends in person from the experts?
You note that people buy magazines, so why not hear about the trends in person — was this your motivation behind starting simply stylist? What sparked the idea for the website?
From my years in PR I noticed that some of the best celebrity placements (a celebrity wearing my clients’ clothing) came through their wardrobe stylist. And the wardrobe stylists never got any credit for it! The fashion editors and the celebrities get showered with gifts and taken to fancy dinners. Years ago, stylists were lugging around clothing, working 150-hour work weeks and got no credit for some of these amazing trends THEY started by putting it on their client. I started SimplyStylist.com to give back to these stylists and show the world who the trendsetters really are.
What is your typical day like running SimplyStylist.com?
I’m wearing ALL types of hats so I try to think big picture and delegate the smaller tasks. Otherwise I find myself running in circles trying to be everything to everyone. I know my strengths and I know my weaknesses — and what I enjoy doing. My love is relationship building and connecting, so I try to book at least one meeting a day with either a stylist, a clothing brand, a fellow PR executive, etc. Each day I put together my to-do list of what I want to accomplish, which sometimes includes going to setup a business license for the company or going to a runway show. This is why I love my job … every day is different and exciting. I also have two AMAZING interns who help with everything from finding content for the site, local errands, research for events and more.
What would you say is the key to your success with SimplyStylist.com?
Staying true to what I would want out of an event. Making sure there are fantastic panelists, amazing networking opportunities and that the content of the seminar is useful to the attendees.
Finally, for the most important question: Who is your favorite designer?
Marchesa can really do no wrong for red carpet. For everyday I love mixing high and low — brands I live in include Michael Kors, H&M, Aryn K. and Agave Denim.
Gilt, Rue La La, ideeli, HauteLook — we’ve all been there. What else have we all been? Completely excited and anxious, anticipating our latest purchase, an amazing deal we found online and just couldn’t resist. Seven for All Mankind jeans for $40 … yes, please! Then our pretty package arrives and we rip through the tape and bubble wrap only to find something we did not want. I mean, yes, it’s exactly what we ordered, but maybe the fabric is shiny or stretchy, the wrong color, the wrong fit, on and on. So many pitfalls, so little money for re-stocking fees. But fear not: You can learn from my mistakes. So, how do you make sure you’re making quality clothing purchases online?
1. Make Google Images your best friend.
Those pictures of super skinny models can’t always be relied on to give you an accurate picture of how clothes will fit, and the same goes for the lighting. Once you’ve narrowed your shopping choices, double check them by running the name through a search engine to see what pops up. Sometimes it can make or break a purchase. I was on the fence about a fairly expensive Rachel Zoe skirt, and I was tipped toward “add to cart” when I saw how the print and its neon/neutral color combo popped. Gorgeous!
2. Don’t look at the original price.
It’s so tantalizing. You think, “Wowzers … I could buy this $300 shirt for only $39! Thanks, Gilt, my new bestie!” Stop right there. Yes, that shirt was once worth $300, but that doesn’t mean you should buy it. Concentrate on the sale price. If you walked into a store and saw that shirt, not on sale, for $39, would you still be as interested? That heavily marked down price makes quite the intoxicating shopping cocktail. Don’t fall for it! Unless you would be willing to put down the money without knowing the markdown, then keep away from “add to cart.”
3. Measure carefully.
Like really, really carefully. But first, look at the size chart for the specific brand you’re shopping. Each designer and each designer size will fit differently from another. So though you may be a size 27 (god willing) in 7 For All Mankind, it might be a tight fit in your AGs. Next, get out a piece of string and wrap it around your wait, chest, bust, etc. Then take the string and measure the length you just wrapped around your body. Now you have a true size to compare to the chart.
4. Or find it in the store, then buy online.
We shop online deals, not necessarily for speed, but for the low, low prices on designers. If you take your measurements and still aren’t sure the clothes will fit, then head to Macy’s. Or Bloomingdale’s or anywhere that carries the same brand you’re stalking and try on similar clothes in similar cuts. You’ll get a sense of what will fit and what won’t, what will look fabulous and what will be all wrong. This works especially well with shoes.
5. Buy from familiar brands.
I love Seven jeans. I know exactly what size I am in three different cuts (because I’m a different size in each), but I know that what I buy online will be well worth the money spent. So when I need jeans, I specifically look online for Seven sales with deep discounts. The same goes for Robert Rodriguez, Jay Godfrey and L.A.M.B.
Add your own online shopping suggestions in the comments below. More importantly, let me know of any online-deal clothing websites that I might be missing out on.
“Vogue is a very beautiful magazine, an institution, and I learned so much working there … You can’t put yourself into competition with a magazine like Vogue; you have to create something new, something different. The page has been turned … It’s time to find something new, something fresh — for me and for the readers.”
Check out the mock-up of what we can expect for the magazine to look like, but it’s not the actual magazine, set to premiere in September 2012 at 288 pages. Of those, 100 are reserved for the cream of the fashion advertising crop: Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and, of course, Gucci.
More recently, it was announced that the magazine is padding the masthead with industry heavyweights: Former Teen Vogue Accessories Director Shiona Turini confirmed to NYMag.com that she has joined Michaela Dosamantes on the market team for fashion and accessories. Turini started her new job May 10.
It’s like she can do no wrong.
Oh, I love this. Ballet AND fashion? This is almost as amazing as the Mulleavy sisters designing for Black Swan. Gareth Pugh created this look for the new ballet Carbon Life. Thoughts? Especially from any ballerinas out there?
Designers, editors, muses, models, photographers — TIME ranks them all in the “All-TIME Top 100 Fashion Icons” since the beginning of TIME in 1923. How many of these puns can we make? More importantly, did your favorites make the cut?
wild pieces 